February on my phone

Here is February according to my phone. We didn't leave home much and spent a lot of time just being silly. Typical February I guess. Can't wait until we can go outside and play!

This is how I found Gracie in the morning. I think her pajamas
are a bit too big if she can pull this off.

Turns out we have another tongue nose picker in the family

Reminds me so much of Jack lately.

Every feeding is a battle lately. Guess she doesn't like peas?

Some of the kids from out workout group. We go to the church
3 times a week and the kids run around while the moms chat
workout.

Haken was so proud of his track. We HAD to take a picture.

We did actually go somewhere this month! My dad offered us his company tickets to the Jazz game. We left Jack and Gracie with Grandma and brought cousin Taylor with us. The seats were in the upper bowl but they were actually not bad because we were on the front row of the upper bowl so we could see everything. The Jazz lost, but it was still a fun night out.

The play area they have set up for the kids.
I think the boys were more excited about this
than the game.

Gracie is 8 months

Holy moly! 8 months already! Gracie is still my tiny little girl and I don't feel like she is really this old. I'm used to have 8-month-olds that are trying to crawl around and move. This little girl does not mind staying put. Her new trick in the last month has been sitting up. She is getting to be a real pro at it. If she can't reach something she usually won't risk falling over to get it. If she is on her back she kicks her legs and scoots backwards, but it isn't really on purpose. I'm not real anxious for her to be mobile, staying put works for me. She is starting to fit into 6 month clothes now, although the 3-6 month stuff fits her the best. She loves to spit and is developing a very silly personality. If someone laughs at her she will laugh back, even if it is artificial, she just like to be included in what is going on. Still doesn't love solid foods, but I can sometimes sneak veggies in with the fruit she likes. She is such a good baby and adds so much to our family.

Brothers

I worried about the 3 1/2 year (to the day) gap between my boys when Jack was born. I wondered if they would ever play together or be interested in the same things. I wondered if Haken would walk all over his little brother and ignore him. I worried that Jack would feel left out and get bored.

Turns out I shouldn't have worried. These boys are best buds. They may have an age gap but that doesn't mean they don't get along and love each other to death. Haken appreciates Jack's silliness and cracks up daily at the funny things he does and Jack worships Haken and tries to be just like him. It really is a great combination. I very rarely have to put out fires because then generally get along, and if they don't they can usually work it out on their own. Haken is fantastic at making others happy and compromising while at the same time getting what he wants. I really couldn't ask for two better boys! I think they will only get closer as they get older and the age gap is all relative.

With the cold mornings this winter this is how the boys like to warm up... We have a heating vent that comes out of the floor in the kitchen by the back door. They like to get a blanket and snuggle up together in their jammies to get warm before we eat breakfast. It also became a popular place to eat lunch. It was Haken's idea, and of course Jack does whatever Haken does. 

These pictures snuggled on the vent were taken a month apart even though it looks like they were on the same day. Those must be Haken's favorite jammies. The blanket is the one that Grandma Glenda made for Shad, it is their favorite because it is so big and they can both fit in it.

I'm going to throw this picture in because the title of this post is "Brothers." Shad has 5 brothers (and no sisters) and he is very close with all of them. That is one of the things that I really admire about his family is how tightly knit they are. I only hope my kids can be the same when they grow up. Two of Shad's brothers (Ricky and Ryan) came up from Arizona at the end of January to go to a family reunion luncheon that was held in Provo. It was a quick trip up and back but we still managed to have lots of fun with them. 

I took this picture because they are all sitting on their own Ipad's playing "Tiger Woods Golf." I guess this is how they play golf when it is 20 degrees with a foot of snow outside. They always find a way to work it in when they are together. No weather can hold them back. 

Treehouse Museum

Today Haken didn't have Kindergarten because of parent teacher conferences. I swear they find every possible reason to let the Kindergarteners have a day off. I thought I would take advantage of the day off and take the kids to the Treehouse Museum in Ogden. When Haken was 2 or 3 we had a membership and went all of the time but with 3 kids now it just isn't possible for us to go that often. We invited his best friend Chloe to come with us since she had the day off too. My mom and sister Jenni met us up there. I was really grateful that they came. Honestly I don't think I would even try to attempt going there on my own, especially when I have a baby to tote around with me (strollers aren't allowed). It makes for a much more relaxed day for me and the boys always love spending time with Grandma.

I thought it would be a pretty deserted day since most kids were in school but it was still pretty busy. There was a preschool group there at the same time, so there were a lot of little kids running around. I didn't really get any pictures during the museum with the exception of this one of Chloe in the play they  put on. Things get really crazy in there when you are trying to keep track of all of your kids.

However, I did get a few of the kids at McDonalds afterwards. They were getting pretty tired and silly by this point. It was a pretty late lunch. 

The progression of these next pictures cracks me up. Chloe sits there nicely smiling for the camera while Haken just goes about being Haken...